Under the contract, the city will pay EBDI about $48,00 a year to landscape medians along Broadway.

Members of the East Baltimore Leadership Team — a coalition of activists, churches and unions — testified against the deal Wednesday before the city's Board of Estimates, arguing that no contracts or deals should go to EBDI until it begins hiring more East Baltimore residents.

"They have not livedup to their mandate to hire East Baltimore residents," said Lawrence Brown, a coalition leader. He said that the developers have hired only about 10 percent of their construction workers from East Baltimore, and his coalition intends to oppose all deals for EBDI until those numbers improve.

EBDI CEO Christopher Shea said he will use 11 staffers to perform the landscaping who are all residents of East Baltimore.

"Most of them were born in East Baltimore," he said.

The panel voted 4-0 in favor. Comptroller Joan M. Pratt abstained.

"I know certain folks that work on this contract and I will not vote to put them out of work," City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young said.

Three more men have been arrested, and four others are being sought, in an investigation into "crash-and-grab" burglaries over the past few months in which thieves drove through the doors and windows of stores.